


drag your cities (to the sea)

by Pomfry



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, C3 is horrible okay, Conspiracy, Everything Hurts, Gen, Hugh has a short temper, Kidnapping, Kuro is Trying, Parental Tsubaki, Poor Sakuya, They are not servamps but they ARE something else, no one is happy least of all Hugh, poor tetsu, underground organizations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2019-06-20 06:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15528711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pomfry/pseuds/Pomfry
Summary: He fiddles with his top hat, pulls his cape tight around his shoulders. He wants Tetsu to pick him up and hold him close, like he always does when Hugh is upset. He wants Tetsu to walk out of this station hand in hand with him. He wantsTetsu.Mahiru and Tetsu go missing. Hugh and Kuro act accordingly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LazyRainDancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyRainDancer/gifts).



> This is for the ever so beautiful and understanding LazyRainDancer! I hope you enjoy it, lovely!

“You don’t understand,” Hugh says harshly, barely seeing over the counter. He pulls himself up, stands on the polished marble, and glares. “Tetsu _wouldn’t_ run away. He has the hot springs, school, _me.”_

The receptionist just looks at him, false sympathy in her eyes. “I’m sure that it might be that way to you,” she says, choosing her words carefully. She’s all too aware of his burning red gaze - the same gaze that threatens murder if she doesn’t say the right thing. “But sometimes these things are triggered by something completely unrelated to usual life.”

“But not _Tetsu,”_ Hugh implores. “Tetsu is steady. Please, just let me talk to the person in charge of his missing person’s case -”

“I can’t,” she interrupts, for once in their entire exchange sounding irritated with him. “He’s gone, okay? He went out in search of evidence. So you can either sit down and shut up or _go away.”_

Hugh snaps his teeth at her, growling under his breath as he jumps off the desk and stalks away. He can tell he scared her - his sharp hearing picks up her quick breathing, and normally Tetsu would be here to reprimand him, to tell him, in that gentle way of his, that what he just did was unnecessary. And normally Hugh would sheepishly agree, would apologise, but -

But Tetsu is gone, taken, and Hugh doesn’t know where he is. His best friend is _gone._

Hugh sighs and sits in a chair, holds his head in his hands. Tetsu wouldn’t run away, despite everything that the police have told him. He looks five years old - of course they wouldn’t say anything to him. Hugh is more intelligent than everyone in this station combined, so the fact that they won’t tell him anything recent to the case pisses him off. He’s been living with Tetsu for two years now. He wouldn't _run away._ He isn’t like those other kids. He isn’t like anyone Hugh has ever known in all his years of living.

He fiddles with his top hat, pulls his cape tight around his shoulders. He wants Tetsu to pick him up and hold him close, like he always does when Hugh is upset. He wants Tetsu to walk out of this station hand in hand with him. He wants _Tetsu._ But Tetsu isn’t here so he’ll have to settle for calling his family. Which family member he can call, though, is up for debate. Lawless wouldn’t do well - he likes to stay in his little bubble of safety. The Mother won’t work, either. She’s halfway across the country. World End is in beautiful Italy - a place that Hugh himself has debated on whether or not to take Tetsu - and who knows what Doubt Doubt is doing these days. Hugh hasn’t seen him in at _least_ fifty years, give or take a few decades. Sleepy Ash...Sleepy Ash is doing who knows what. There’s only one sibling he can rely on.

He slips off the chair, placing his top hat on his head, nodding as he walks out the door. The bell dingles above him, and he’s swallowed by the dinner rush crowds. He has a sibling to talk to - Snow Lily, he believes his name is this generation - and nothing is going to stop him.

He pulls out his phone, dialing his brother. “Hey,” he says without preamble. “Tetsu is missing.”

Lily falls silent. _“How did it happen?_ ” he asks, uncharastically serious, and Hugh grips his pants tight.

“He went out to get milk,” he manages past the lump in his throat. “He went out and I didn’t go with him. When he didn’t come back within the hour, I called him. And - Lily, he _never_ misses a call.”

Lil hums, quiet and somber. _“What do you want me to do?”_ he says, and Hugh smiles shakily. He has such good siblings.

“Tell the others,” he says. “Tell the others and use the photo you have of Tetsu and me - I know you have it. I just - Tetsu is missing, Lily.”

Hugh hates how he’s showing weakness to his baby brother. He hates that he’s so close to screaming and talking to Lily makes it better. He’s the older sibling - he’s supposed to be unbreakable. Lily is supposed to rely on him, not...not listen to him whine and complain about something. He’s supposed to be a pillar of strength.

Hugh blows out a slow breath, the crackle of static in his ear from his speaker. Lily is silent, thinking things over, and Hugh kicks a rock on the sidewalk as he leans against a wall, out of the way of the incoming mortals. “Lily?”

 _“It’s going to be okay,”_ Lily says promptly, and it’s soothing, something he’s clearly developed after taking in countless children over the years. Hugh finds himself resentfully calmed. He does not want to be calm. What he _wants_ to do is to rage, to raise his weapon against the one who _took Tetsu,_ but he can’t. He needs to remain tranquil, to not let his emotions cloud his judgment otherwise he will miss clues and thus _Tetsu. “Old Child, I promise it will be okay.”_

“My name is Hugh,” he mumbles. “And I know it will. I’m just - worried.” He heads towards an alleyway, stepping into it and sitting down against the dirty ground. He pulls his legs to his chest, resting his chin on his knees, and closes his eyes. “He’s the person I chose this century.”

 _“I know,”_ Lily replies with understanding in his voice. _”I know. But we’ll get him back. I promise.”_

Hugh should be the one promising that. He should be the calm one, the one saying _I’ll get him back,_ but, in all honesty, he doesn’t want to be that. Hugh is viciously protective of those he claims as his, so incredibly vicious that he’s gone to war against whole countries because they posed a threat to the one Hugh has decided are _his._ And - he’s won against them. He doesn’t bleed, only lets out this inky black smoke that’s an indicator of the fact that he’s an immortal, so he can’t die. He doesn’t feel pain much, either. It’s muted, a backdrop to his thoughts. He’s gone to war and sometimes he wakes up in a cold sweat, but he _won._

And although he hasn’t done that for Tetsu’s sake, he _would_ . He would and now Tetsu is _gone._ Gone because he let his guard down, because he believed that Tetsu could make it to the store and back.

Gone, because Hugh trusted the world to protect him since he’s only a child, only fourteen. He should have known, shouldn’t have been so naive.

“I have to go,” he says with burning eyes, and hangs up. He gets to his feet, brushing off his clothes, and fixes his cape as he strolls out of the alley. Hugh has an information network and it’s about time he puts it to good use.

He bumps into a person - a teenager, it seems, with curly green hair, and he doesn’t apologize, attention on his phone as he types out: _Do you know where Tetsu was last?_

He doesn’t notice the look the teenager gives him, the way he stiffens. He doesn’t notice the way his fingers twitch towards his pocket. What he _does_ notice is the way he disappears into thin air, the way his breath catches. He notices these things, and he watches out of the corner of his eye as the last of the green hair disappears around the corner.

His phone buzzes, and he spares a glance down at it.

> _Way home from store._

His lips thin, his eyes narrow. He looks up, then starts down the same path the teenager went down. He’s suspicious, Hugh thinks, and his cape flaps at his heels as he turns left, the exact same way the teenager did.

He’s there, leaning against a wall and fiddling with some throwing knives in his hands as he talks on the phone to someone. Hugh ducks behind a dumpster, happy, for once, about his height as he listens in.

“No, we don’t know where Sendagaya is. Shamrock tried to find information on it, but - yeah, yeah, I know. We can’t help directly, but he’s just a _kid._ He’s fourteen, okay -”

He pauses, tugging on the stray curl on the side of his head. “Tsubaki-san, do you think it’s C3? We deliberately stayed out of their way but…”

“TSU-TSU!”

The teenager flinches, jerking the phone away from his ear. “Dammit, Belkia,” he grumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Tsubaki-san, we were supposed to hang back and let them do their thing until we were going to strike, right? Well, we can’t do that unless they have Sendagaya.”

C3. Sendagaya.

_Tetsu._

Hugh’s teeth sink into his lip, his nails dig into his palms. He wants to burst out from his hiding place, wants to demand answers, but he can’t do that. He won’t - can’t - risk this chance to get information on Tetsu’s whereabouts. He needs to know this, needs to listen in.

He doesn’t dare breath as the teenager blows out some air between his lips. It whistles sharply, making Hugh wince, hands coming up to curl around his ears. “Yeah, I know. I’m being worried over nothing, but - Tsubaki-san, if Sensei was the first, then… “ He stops. “Well, we’ll keep looking. I really think C3 has something to do with this.”

“You know,” the teenager says thoughtfully. “It’s at times like this I wonder why I stay with you. Yeah, yeah, I’ll call Shamrock before he has a heart attack. Bye.”

He hangs up and keeps on walking further into the alley. Hugh peeks around the dumpster just in time to see him jump up and climb into a rickety old fire escape, pulling himself up and then going up to the roof as he vanishes from sight.

Hugh rocks back on his heels, thinking over what he just heard. C3 is here, in Japan, and is acting up again. There’s another group that’s going to attack soon, just as soon as they get Tetsu back. But they’re also going to _help_ get Tetsu back.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. His top hat falls to the ground with a small whump, and Hugh picks it up, brushes it off. He doesn’t put it back on. His pipe is in his pocket and he grips it tight. Tetsu gave it to him as a gift, said that it fit his style. Hugh hasn’t let it go since.

It’s grounding, in a way. It’s enough to make him force his way past the red in his vision, the way his nails draw gouges into the brick wall. It’s enough to make him take a breath, make himself stand and walk away, mind swirling with information.

He starts a message to all his contacts, to his siblings.

> _C3 is acting up. Give me all of your information._

Lily texts back with due speed.

> _Come to my house. We have information you’ll like to hear._

 

\--

 

Kuro wakes up on the couch, a blanket snug around him and no Mahiru in sight. He blinks, sits up. The blanket slides off his shoulders, pools around his waist, and Kuro hardly takes notice.

“Mahiru?” he calls. The sun is barely up so Mahiru should be getting up soon. Kuro doesn’t even know why he’s awake at the moment. He should be sleeping, he thinks, faintly annoyed, and stands, stretching his arms above his head. “Mahiru, it’s time to wake up.”

He opens the door to the bedroom, the hinges squeaking. He notes it, decides that he’ll fix it as a treat for Mahiru, and sticks his head inside. The bed is made, nothing moving in the room. The moon shines through the window overhead the bed, casting a cold light on everything it touched. Kuro shifts, unease in his gut as he takes a step forward. There wasn’t a note anywhere in the apartment, not that he could see, and if Mahiru left this early, unlikely considering he knows how reluctantly worried Kuro becomes, he would have left a note saying where he’s going. He wouldn’t just - _leave_ with no explanation. Maybe he left to go get some food for breakfast?

Kuro nods his head at his conclusion, resolutely ignoring the way there’s a buzzing in his ears. Mahiru will be back soon and everything will go back to normal. He knows that everything will turn out fine because Mahiru wouldn’t leave him be.

Mahiru will be back in time for breakfast.

Kuro’s hands twitch as he heads back into the living room. He puts a game in the XBOX, picks up the controller, and starts playing. Five minutes later, he’s glancing anxiously at the door, and when he looks back, he’s died and has to restart the level. He curses beneath his breath, giving his total focus to the game. Mahiru has been trying to get past this level for the past month when he has the time, and Kuro thinks that this will be a good way of letting him not get frustrated. This game is supposed to be a stress reliever and it hasn’t been doing its job.

An hour later, Kuro is thoroughly intertwined in the game, and the sun is halfway into the sky. Mahiru should have been back by now, he thinks nervously, and forces his attention back to the screen. He’s lost some of his health in the moments when he was distracted, and he’s almost done with this part of the level. After that, he needs five more parts for this level to be done, and then it’s onto the rock level. He isn’t sure why the lava level is before the rock level considering the lava level is _significantly_ harder, but he isn’t complaining. It’s making him give all of his awareness to the game.

Two hours after that, he gets to his feet, knees creaking with the movement, and gets some food. It’s lunchtime, with the sun high in the sky, and Kuro bites into a sandwich as he watches the front door. No one comes in. He sits on the counter and stares for the next thirty minutes anyway, hope that Mahiru will come walking in flickering in his chest. It dies a painful death.

He slips off the counter, brushing away the crumbs. He knows Mahiru hates crumbs, knows because Mahiru has gone on a shouty rant about it before, about why crumbs are the literal worst to clean up. Usually, Kuro wouldn’t care, but he’s - concerned. So he’s doing things that would please Mahiru, in some twisted attempt to bring him back.

“Maybe he has a student council meeting,” he mutters as he pulls on the sleeves of his jacket. He knows that’s not the truth. Student council meetings are always, always in the afternoon, and Mahiru always tells him the night before if he has one the next day. He hadn’t done that.

There’s something that makes hinges not squeak underneath the sink. Kuro crouches down and gets it, then heads back to Mahiru’s room. He squirts it on the metal, lets it dry for about five minutes, then swings the door open and shut. It’s silent and smooth. Mahiru will be happy. He’s been complaining about that for a week but never had the time to fix it. And now it’s fixed. He’ll be ecstatic.

He turns, heads back to the living room where the pause screen is flashing at him. He sits, plucks the controller off of the floor, and starts playing again.

It’s when the clocks says it’s five does Kuro finally drudge himself up from the depths of denial, finally admit to himself that something is wrong. He gets to his feet, walking down the hallway to Mahiru’s room. His heart is pounding in his chest when he opens the door. It doesn’t squeak and Kuro doesn’t miss it. The window is open, he notes, and dread races down his spine. Why did he never notice that before?

The window is open and Mahiru is gone and _someone took the time to make Mahiru’s bed._

Kuro races into the living room, snatches his phone off the coffee table, and dials Mahiru.

The ringtone comes from Mahiru’s room.

Kuro sinks to his knees and dials Lily.

_“Yes?”_

“Mahiru  -” He cuts himself off, curling in tighter. “Mahiru is missing.”

Lily falls silent. _“Come to my house.”_ And he hangs up, leaving Kuro drowning the silence of an apartment that’s no longer home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! school and all that ;-;
> 
> either way i hope you enjoy it!

Kuro takes a small sip of the tea offered to him by the staff, resisting the urge to shift nervously. Lily is smiling across from him, unnervingly calm, and Misono is glaring daggers at the table. Silence reigns for a few more minutes before Misono breaks, slamming his hand down on the table as he flies to his feet.

“So,” he says sharply. “Shirota is missing.”

Kuro nods, the pain of that reminder hitting home. “Yes.” 

“And you don’t know who took him.” It isn’t a question.

“No.” 

Misono blows out a sigh, throwing himself into his chair sullishly. “Then what use are _you,”_ he spits, and Kuro’s hackles rise. He sets the tea cup down on the table, still as water, and Lily’s eyes sharpen as he slowly stands, Kuro mirroring him.

“Kuro,” he says, voice soft, and Kuro narrows his eyes at him. He puts his arm in front of Misono, stepping to the side to cover his human; Kuro keeps eye contact with his baby brother. He won’t hurt Misono - Mahiru would hate that - but what Misono just said…

“Lily,” Kuro returns, his lazy drawl present. He’s unnaturally still, Lily the same, and from the way Misono is looking between them, the beginning of realisation dawning on his face, he understands that he went over a line.

“We don’t have time for this,” Lily says carefully, crossing his arms. “If we want to find Mahiru, we must keep our cool.”

Kuro grinds his teeth together, nails digging into his palms. He doesn’t want to be calm; he wants to rain havoc and destruction upon whoever took Mahiru, upon whoever _dared_ to take him, but - Lily is right. He must not let his rage take over him. He takes a breath, makes himself sit down. He picks up the teacup again, taking a slow drink. Lily is still standing, Misono staring at him warily 

He likes to think that he’s changed. Mahiru has changed him, he knows that. But he also knows that he hasn’t changed, not completely. He can’t change himself that fully. He knows that, with the slow certainty in his bones. He knows that.

What he doesn’t know is what he’ll turn into if he can’t find Mahiru.

“Okay,” he says finally, leaning back in his chair. He’s calm. He’s utterly fucking calm, even with the rage swirling beneath his skin, the way he itches to bare his teeth. He’s. Calm. “So now what?”

Misono takes a breath, leans forward. He laces his fingers together, resting his arms on the table as he looks Kuro not quite in the eye. His gaze rests on Kuro’s nose, just close enough to his eyes that if Kuro didn’t have his full attention on him, he wouldn’t know if  he wasn’t so focused on Misono’s face. “Now?” Misono chuckles, and it’s a dark, low thing. “Now we spread our influence. Father has contacts, as does Lily.” He wavers before his expression hardens. “Mikuni has ties to C3. With all of our intelligence, it won’t be a hard thing to find Mahiru.”

Misono really has changed in the year that he’s known him, Kuro reflects. Before, he would be blustering, be turning red, be avoiding the mere _mention_ of his estranged brother. But now he’s willing to do all of this for Mahiru. And Kuro isn’t ungrateful - far from it. He’s so glad that Misono is going to do this.

(He still doesn’t trust Mikuni, even after lengths he would go for Misono’s safety. He’s done things that would make Mahiru balk. Even for all he remained MIA for the last few hundred years, he isn’t that out of the loop to not hear about Mikuni. He doesn’t trust him. He’s only in it for his own gain, for his own safety, and when Misono is involved, his little brother’s continued well being. That’s it. He doesn’t really care about other people unless he learns things about them, like he doesn’t care about Kuro but he cares but Mahiru.

Kuro doesn’t trust Mikuni, but he may be Kuro’s best bet at finding Mahiru.)

“Okay,” he says clearly, listing to the side and falling onto the plush seat covers of the chairs next to him. His limbs hang off the side, his hood warm against his neck, and Kuro closes his eyes and _thinks._

He needs time to think, to run things through his head. He isn’t like Old Child, who can think a difficult decision through within a minute and have an answer. He can make split second decisions, but…

He isn’t well with thinking. He’s indecisive when he can be, resolute when he can’t, but he prefers to think things over. So far, it’s worked out for him, at least for the most part.

Lily, knowing the way his mind works, pours another cup of tea, and waits as Kuro turns it over in his head. Misono eyes the two of them before sitting back in his chair and watching the wall 

Lily has contacts - good contacts, contacts with _connections,_ connections that, with the right amount of time, can find _anything._ His little brother is all grown up and Kuro doesn’t know when he did it. He still remembers when Lily first woke up, his eyes muddled and confused, and the way he’d reached out to Kuro, his hands seeking. He’d been so innocent back then, so unaware, and now Kuro wonders when he did it. When he grew up, leaving behind that dependent brother Kuro had known.

He sighs, the fur from his hood brushing against his cheek. He’s tired, most of all. Tired of the world, tired of making hard decisions. Tired of feeling so tired all the damn time. He’s just...tired. Mahiru was the only one who really made it better.

(“I know you represent Sloth, but this is ridiculous!” Mahiru had said a few days before he disappeared, fond exasperation in his voice., and Kuro had stuck his tongue out at him.

Kuro wishes, now, that he’d told Mahiru just how much he means to him. Because now, he isn’t sure that he would ever get that chance.)

Footsteps, the pitter-patter of small feet against the floor, and all three of them look up as the door slams open and panicked shouting reaches their ears.

“You can’t come in here!”

 _“Watch me,”_  Kuro’s younger brother snarls, and a spike of shadows stabs the hand of a servant. He whirls around, the cape flaring, and his eyes are flaring, glowing in his anger. Kuro hasn’t seen Old Child this furious since the incident of 1347.

“Old Child,” Lily says warmly, standing. The servant is holding his hand, biting his lips to keep in the cries of pain as blood drips to the ground, and Old Child snaps his teeth in frustration. “Welcome.”

“Lily,” Old Child replies, stalking forward as his cape grows behind him, creating gouges in the floor. “You said you had information.” His voice drops, just enough that it’s unsettling to listen to. “What information."

It isn’t a question, and Kuro slowly gets up, watching as Lily makes his way towards him.

“I do indeed,” Lily says idly, tapping his fingers on the table as he passes it. His lips quirk up, and Kuro has to admire his boldness. Old Child in a rage is dangerous; even Kuro would be wary. “Why don’t you sit?”

Old Child eyes him, nails digging into his palms, and tilts his top hat so a shadow covers the top half of his face. His teeth have grown, Kuro notices, and flicks his eyes over to Misono. Misono, who is sitting stiff in his seat, face pale, and suddenly Kuro realizes that, to a human, Old Child display of temper would activate the flight or fight instincts; Misono, it seems, is caught between fight or flight, and thus is stuck. Kuro roams his gaze over to his two siblings, where Old Child is glaring at Lily, who is doing his best to not seem phased.

“Hugh,” Lily says in the oppressive silence, and Kuro raises an eyebrow. “Hugh, you must calm down.”

 _“Calm down?”_  Hugh hisses, his fury flaring. The room darkens. “Tetsu, my _human,_ is missing, and you want me to _calm down?”_ he roars the last two words, and the windows shake in the frames.

“Yes,” Lily says, his voice trembling minutely. Old Child — his name is Hugh, Kuro reminds himself, and already knows it won’t stick — narrows his eyes, opens his mouth to say more, no doubt scathing, and Lily flinches. Kuro gets up and between them so fast he has to blink to regain a sense of being.

“Old Child,” he says, his voice sharp and his back straight for once. “Calm down.”

 _You’re scaring Lily,_ he wants to say, because that is what would get him to back down instantly, but Lily would never forgive him for doing that, so he doesn’t say it. He does, however, drawl, “And that’s funny. My human is missing too.”

Old Child takes a step back, blinking his eyes in bewilderment. “You,” He says slowly, as though he can’t believe it, “have a human.”

“That’s the information I was trying to tell you,” Lily says over Kuro’s head, and yet again Kuro is struck by the sense that it is just not _fair_ to have the youngest tower over him.

“So calm down,” Kuro tells his younger brother, and Old Child, takes a breath, steadies himself. The shadows retreat, his anchor releases, and he unhooks his cape from the floor.

“Okay,” Old Child says tightly, and clamors into a seat. Kuro bites back the smile that threatens to rise at the sight of it. Smiling is easier than it was, in the time before Mahiru came bursting into his life with a smile like sunshine. He slinks back into his seat, watching as Lily pours Old Child a cup of tea. Old Child takes a sip, ever so polite, and lowers it onto the saucer with a small _chink._

“Old Child,” Kuro starts, and his brother looks up, eyes burning.

“My _name,”_ he hisses, “is Hugh the Dark Algernon the Third and that is the name given to me by my human, by Tetsu Sendagaya, and it is _what you will call me.”_

Kuro puts his hands up in silent surrender. “Hugh, then.” He tilts his head down, half lidded eyes staring into the tea, and his reflection looks back up at him.

Hugh has always been devoted to his humans, he muses. Always been more willing to push the limits of his morals if they so desired it, if they needed it. It’s gotten him in trouble before, but he will never change it, Kuro knows. He’s dogmatic, stuck in his ways yet incredibly progressive, and it’s contradictory of him. Kuro wouldn’t have him change for the world, through.

Hugh smiles, a flash of teeth against pale skin, and his lips are stained with dried blood. “Good. Now - do you have any ideas?” His fingers tighten around the cup, fingertips turning white with the pressure.

All three of them shake their heads. ”No,” Misono says, eyes fluttering shut. “We don’t. We were about to head off for contacts, but -“

“I know who it is,” Hugh interrupts, the steam from the tea curling upwards in tendrils. “At least who took Tetsu. And none of you will like it.”

Lily leans forward, hair swishing around his shoulders. Kuro’s frozen, glancing at his brother out of the corner of the eye. He might know, he might _know -_

“Who is it?” Misono says, his voice like a whip in the air. “Hugh, we need to know.”

Hugh takes off his hat, running a hand through his hair. He sighs, sounding tired, and runs a finger along the brim of his top hat. “The disappearances are too close together for it to be coincidental.” He bites his lip, closing his eyes and slumping over. “I followed a boy with green hair. He mentioned C3 and Tetsu and a man named Tsubaki.”

Kuro’s little brother looks so very old, so very weary, that Kuro finds himself reaching out, a hand scratching Hugh’s scalp. “It’ll be okay,” he murmurs, and then meets Misono’s gaze.

Sakuya, he thinks, and Misono closes his eyes, exhaustion making his shoulders hunch. He gets the message, and Kuro feels something heavy fall into his stomach.

Sakuya knows about them, knows about C3. He’s working for someone by the sounds of it, and Mahiru is going to be _devastated._ He worked so hard to keep his friends out of this, and he failed one of them. He’s going to be torn apart, ripped at the seams, wracked by guilt, and Kuro won’t be able to do anything to stop it.

“It’ll be okay,” he repeats, and Hugh curls up, tears springing to life.

“We’re going to be attacked,” Hugh whispers. “We’re going to be attacked by Tsubaki and his minions and Tetsu is missing and —“

“It’s going to be okay,” Kuro says again, pulling his brother into an embrace, and Hugh fights it for a moment — only for a moment, just enough to protect his pride, and then he stops, burying his face in Kuro’s jacket.

It’s going to be okay because Kuro will _make_ it okay. He won’t accept anything less.

 

—

 

Tetsu wakes up to searing light in his eyes, to the rattle of chains around his wrists. The air is stable, the sounds he makes echoing around him, and Tetsu doesn’t know what’s happening. Hugh would never allow this to happen to him, never put him in this situation. So, he concludes as he sits up, someone must have done this without Hugh knowing. The question, then, is _how._ Hugh knows everything that happens before it happens, which is how he’s able to keep Tetsu safe.

He shifts, pulls at the chains. They’re shackled to the stone behind him, and, for all of his inhuman strength, he can’t pull them out. He slumps against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest. He may be mature for his age, but at the end of the day he’s fourteen. He’s fourteen and he’s scared and trapped, with no memories of what was happening before he woke up here.

The metals chafes against his wrists, against his ankles. It hurts and Tetsu doesn’t know what to do beyond burying his head in his arms. He’s not smart, not like the others. He has gut instincts, intuition. Hugh calls him clever, tells him that he’s so so clever and that to never let anyone tell him he’s not. Hugh hugs him tight, presses his lips against Tetsu’s forehead and sings a ancient song long since lost to time.

Tetsu wishes Hugh was here right now. He would let Tetsu lay his head in his lap, running his hand through his hair and hum lowly, a possessive grip around Tetsu’s shoulder. But Hugh isn’t here right now, and Tetsu has never been kidnapped, never been taken. Hugh is always with him, always being his silent protector even as Tetsu takes care of him, and he’s never been in danger. Not quite like this. He’s run into his fair share of delinquents, but since Hugh started making him go to self defense classes, he’s able to take them down easily enough.

Hugh always convinces him to get ice cream after those instances.

Tears burn his eyes and he hugs his legs tighter. He will not cry. Hugh always told him his ability to remain unfazed was admirable. Tetsu doesn’t want to disappoint him.

The door opens. Tetsu looks up to see a man with a tattoo on his face drag another boy in. There’s blood on the boy’s face, in his brown hair, and Tetsu tries to get to his feet. Something is irrevocably wrong here, something so undeniably sinister, and Tetsu is a guardian. He fights for those who cannot fight for themselves.

The man throws the boy onto the floor, scoffing at the way he whimpers, clutching at his arm. “You’re pathetic.”

The boy’s face twists in something like anger but not quite, and Tetsu is forced to his knees, the chains not long enough to allow him to stand. The boy’s arm is bent the wrong way. Tetsu knows that’s really, really bad.

“You’re sick,” the boy spits, slowly sitting up.

The man grins, and Tetsu can see the madness in the angle of it, the coldness in his eyes. “So you say. We’ll just have to wait for your two pet immortals to come and get you.”

“Kuro will beat you,” the boy says with absolute certainty, and Tetsu privately adds his own _Hugh will kill you for taking me, for trying to hurt me._

“We’ll see.” The man looks immensely unimpressed.

The boy bares his teeth at the man, not moving an inch until the door closes. He turns to Tetsu, shock filtering through his face until it settles on warmth as he scoots his way over to Tetsu’s side. Tetsu stares at him, wrists twisting in the restraints, and the boy reaches out, rubbing where the metal hurts his skin.

“I’m Mahiru,” the boy says quietly, sending a smile full of pain up at him. Tetsu knows what he’s doing. He’s trying to keep calm for Tetsu’s sake. Hugh does that a lot. He has a temper and he knows that Tetsu doesn’t like yelling so he keeps it under wraps.

“I’m Tetsu,” Tetsu replies, shifting. “Is your arm okay?”

Mahiru glances at it, grimaces. “It’ll be fine,” he dismisses. “Just need to get a splint.”

Tetsu casts his eyes around the room, searching for something to make a splint. Hugh made him learn how to make one —- just in case, he’d said with a sad expression, and Tetsu hadn’t had the heart to say no — so he knows what to look for. He finds it in a metal pole, the scarf around his neck, and the belt around Mahiru’s waist.

“If you give me your belt and that pole, I can make a splint,” he says quietly. “It’ll hurt, but it’s better than nothing.”

Mahiru readily gives them, and Tetsu bites his lip before setting Mahiru’s arm. The scream Mahiru gave out will haunt Tetsu until he dies, he knows. He makes the splint with deft speed, trying to contain the urge to flinch at Mahiru’s pained gasps.

“Okay,” he says after five minutes, hands lowering. “I’m done.”

Mahiru opens his eyes, trying his best to grin as he sits next to Tetsu, resting his head on his shoulder. “Why’re you here?” he murmurs, his voice soft. “And how old are you?”

“Hugh lives with me,” Tetsu says, shrugging a little. “He’s immortal, and I guess that they wanted him. And - I’m fourteen.”

Mahiru jerks. _“Fourteen?_ I thought you were older than I am!”

Tetsu shakes his head. “No, I’m just tall.”

Mahiru actually laughs at that, not nothing to hide his sniggering in his palm. “Yeah, I can see that. I live with Kuro. He’s the oldest of the immortals. And I’m sixteen.”

Tetsu smiles, lets his head rest against the wall. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

The door slams open and — there. The man is standing there again, his gaze cool, and Mahiru shifts in front of him protectively.

“Touma,” he says evenly. His voice doesn’t shake.

The man — Touma — ignores him, steps close with a key in his hand. Panic flashes in Mahiru’s eyes, and he lunges forward, good arm outstretched as though he can stop him. Tetsu curls up tighter, eyes trained on Touma as he advances, side stepping Mahiru’s attempt. He unlocks the chains and yanks Tetsu to his feet, his face blank as he says, “Cooperate and the other one won’t get hurt.”

Tetsu gives up before he even begins. He can’t let anyone get hurt.

He’s dragged out the door, Mahiru’s shout of protest the last thing he hears before a needle inserts itself in his arm and everything goes black.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakuya sighs, resting his head against the window. The headphones around his ears are blaring music — some inane, popular song that Tsubaki picked out for him and Sakuya just hasn’t removed from his playlist yet. He’s still in his pajamas, not dressed for school. He doesn’t know why he should go to school. Mahiru isn’t there and Ryuusei and Koyuki are beside themselves with worry. Worry that Sakuya doesn’t know how to fix because he’s new to their friend group, new to them, and Ryuusei and Koyuki have known each other since they were five. They don’t intentionally shut him out, but they seek comfort in each other and Sakuya…Sakuya is someone new. Someone who, while still a friend, isn’t family. At least, not to them.

He lets his leg hang down, resting his cheek in his palm. Tsubaki is out with Higan and Shamrock — something to do with Sakuya’s custody thing which is still going on, a year later. Otogiri is out getting another book and Belkia hasn’t shown up in at least two days.

Two days, just like Mahiru.

He could call Misono. Could call and say _Mahiru hasn’t shown up in a while and I’m scared._ Could go over to Misono’s house, but…

Sakuya scrubs a hand over his face. He doesn’t know why he’s unsure. Doesn’t know why he’s so hesitant. Misono and him are friends and though they’ve only known each other for about a year, he knows that Misono would send out all the resources he has to find Mahiru. Knows, because Sakuya would do the same thing.

Mahiru is missing and Sakuya doesn’t know what to do. Tsubaki’s telling him that he’ll find Mahiru, that Mahiru will be returned home, returned to him. But Sakuya comes first, and his parents are trying to get visitation rights. Rights that Sakuya had shouted that he doesn’t want, that Tsubaki had promised him that they wouldn’t get.

Sakuya shivers at the memory of his parents. His sister is dead and gone, the only things remaining of her pictures and Sakuya’s memories, and it’s all their fault. The surge of anger is familiar and he rides the wave easily. His nails dig into his palms, not enough to break the skin but enough that it sends sparks up pain into his brain as he tenses.

A breath, his shoulders slumping, and Sakuya pulls his knees to his chest, arms encircling them loosely. The city looks normal from this view, he muses, and bites his lip, unusually sharp canines gnawing at his skin.

Tetsu Sendagaya. It’s a name that’s been haunting him for ages, now. Ever since he disappeared.

Tetsu Sendagaya is a fourteen year old middle schooler, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Tetsu Sendagaya likes to make origami and is part of the calligraphy club. Tetsu Sendagaya has bad grades but is brilliant when making split-second decisions. Tetsu Sendagaya hands out advertisements for his family hot springs. Tetsu Sendagaya is a babysitter for his neighbors. Tetsu Sendagaya is a child.

Tetsu Sendagaya houses the embodiment of pride.

Tetsu Sendagaya got kidnapped and everyone believes he ran away, the only person believing he didn’t Old Child.

Sakuya thumps his head back against the wall. Tetsu Sendagaya haunts his dreams. Tetsu Sendagaya and Mahiru. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees the picture of Tetsu Sendagaya with Old Child, smiling as the sin pointed out something enthusiastically. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees Mahiru’s bright grin.

He breathes out shakily, gripping his pants tight. Tsubaki told him that they would get Tetsu Sendagaya back. He’s promised a lot of things lately, and Tsubaki always, always keeps his promises.

...He misses Misono. He needs someone close right now and he’s all alone.

Sakuya pulls out his phone, scrolling through his contacts and tapping on Misono. He puts the phone up to his ear, picking at a toenail absently. He knows that Misono is protected by the embodiment of lust, that it’s dangerous for him to get close just as he knows it’s dangerous for him to get close to Mahiru, but — but he likes having friends.

He just doesn’t know if he’ll be able to stand Tsubaki’s plan.

It rings once, twice, and Sakuya starts to get nervous when it rings three times. But someone picks up on the fifth ring, and he opens his mouth to say hello when Misono’s voice cuts across the line, strong and cold.

“What do you want?”

Sakuya reaches for an explanation for why Misono is being icy. Tries to find one. Fails.

“I just — Mahiru hasn’t shown up to school in two days,” he says, rushing the explanation. “I’m worried, Misono, do you have any idea of where he went?”

“You know Mahiru’s roommate?” Misono asks, a little thawed. Sakuya nods, then remembers that Misono can’t see him.

“Yes.”

“He noticed the first day. He called us. We think we know who took him.”

Sakuya grips his legs tight. “Wait — Mahiru got kidnapped?”

“Yes,” Misono confirms, and Sakuya almost falls off his seat on the windowsill in his haste to get to his bedroom. He needs to change, needs to get to Misono’s house —

“I’m coming over,” he says, throwing his phone on the bed and rummaging through his clothes. After a moment of thought, he turns the phone on speaker.

He doesn’t have the space of mind to go with an outfit, so he just grabs some jeans and a light green shirt.

As he pushes his head through the collar, Misono’s voice reaches him. He tilts his head, tugging down the shirt as he looks at his phone. “Misono?"

“Sakuya!” Misono shouts, sounding harried, and Sakuya immediately pulls on his pants, shoves his feet into his shoes, and is out the door within maybe a minute. The speaker makes a noise as though it was dropped, and Sakuya hears Misono’s screaming before someone picks it up.

“Yes,” he says, running down the hallway. If his house is about fifteen minutes by car to Misono’s house, then if he runs then it should be maybe half an hour. Maybe. If he gets a cab halfway. “What is it?”

Silence. Then -

“Sakuya,” Lily says demurely, like there isn’t the sound of Misono’s yelling in the background. “Maybe you shouldn’t come over.”

Sakuya huffs, just barely avoiding running into someone. “Lily,” he responds, just a touch irritated. “I’m coming over.”

“Are you running?” Lily says, and Sakuya can just imagine him delicately raising one eyebrow in question. “Sakuya, Misono’s house is at least forty-five minutes away by running with a steady pace, which you cannot do.”

Sakuya laughs. “Just watch me,” he says, and turns the corner. His lungs are starting to burn, his breathing becoming labored, but Misono is still shouting himself hoarse behind Lily trying to convince him to just stay home, and Mahiru is missing. Something is happening to Misono and Mahiru is kidnapped just like Tetsu Sendagaya, and Sakuya can’t sit by and do _nothing._

“Sakuya, really, if you just stay put I can send someone —“

“You can?” Sakuya wheezes, stumbling to a stop. His chest is aching, his legs shaking. He should really put in more participation at gym. “Cool.”

“Where are you?” Lily asks, and there’s the click of a pen. “I can send Dodo.”

Sakuya squints at his surroundings, looking for a landmark. “Uh. Around that giant screen in the square. You know that one boutique?”

Lily chuckles. “Sakuya, I shop there.”

Sakuya, who was raised with very little money, crinkles his nose. “Of course you do,” he mutters, looking around. The boutique is incredibly expensive. Only the rich can afford it, and Sakuya is still getting used to the fact that he is now, in fact, rich. He’s having a bit of trouble getting over his automatic “poor person” — called so by Belkia — reaction of wasting that much money on clothes instead of on useful things like food. “Anyways, I’m like right across from it.”

“I’ll tell Dodo.” Another click and Misono’s shouting fades out as Lily moves to another part of the manor. “Ah, Dodo, can you pick up Sakuya from…"

Lily’s voice grows quieter and then cuts out abruptly as he hangs up, and Sakuya leans against the wall, ignoring the looks the adults give him. He’s technically skipping, yes, but —

But his best friend has been taken and his other friend is acting weird. He thinks he has reason to skip.

Within ten minutes, Dodo arrives, the limo appearing odd in the populated street. Sakuya shoves himself off the wall, strolling up the limo and knocking on the window. It rolls down and Sakuya grins. It feels incredibly wobbly, which is — not good. Not good at all considering he’s supposed to be the silly one.

Then again, extenuating circumstances.

“Hey,” he says, and Dodo smiles back, jerking his thumb to the rear end of the car.

“Hey,” he replies. “Get in. You’ll want to see this.”

Sakuya raises a brow before making his way to the seating portion of the limo, hands in his pockets. He knows what he looks like. A delinquent, with his loose clothes and shirt. A skipper, a no good. Sakuya isn’t any of those things and he knows it, so he gives all the stares a smug face and gets in the face, shutting the door behind him. The limo starts driving as soon as he sits, and he opens the talking window, resting his chin on his wrists.

“So what’s going on?” he says, scratching at a scab on his arm. “Why was Misono being all growly?”

Dodo sighs. “Mikuni arrived.”

“Mikuni?” Sakuya thinks back and — oh no. “His brother?”

“Yep.” Dodo’s lips twist into a grimace. “The reunion didn’t go well.”

“I’ll bet,” Sakuya huffs, and sits back. “Jesus. Mikuni is an ass.”

“Ah, but he’s smart.” Dodo shrugs. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“And how long will that be?”

“About five minutes.” Dodo glances up, his eyes glistening with mischievousness. “Can you wait that long?”

Sakuya’s lips twist into a grin. It’s only been a couple minutes since they got into the car.

He sits back, buckling himself in. “You know it.”

Dodo laughs, sharp and cheery, and rams on the gas. Sakuya’s head slams into the cushions and he laughs, crossing his arms across his chest as Dodo swerves around on the road to avoid hitting pedestrians.

Sakuya rolls his eyes, settling back into his seat. He hasn’t seen Mahiru in two days. And he hasn’t seen his roommate, either. He’s always gone when Sakuya comes over. When Sakuya asked about him, Mahiru scowled and started going on about how lazy he is, about how he only plays video games.

He doesn’t have a job. Sakuya knows that much. He has six younger siblings that he tries to see — according to Mahiru, anyway. And he’s also shy, which is probably why Sakuya has never met him.

He doesn’t even know what he looks like, though he does know his name.

“Kuro,” he murmurs, fiddling with the headphones around his ears. Kuro is an odd name for anyone. It means black, and Sakuya doesn’t know anyone who would name their kid that. It’s such a weird name. Sakuya doesn’t know where Mahiru found Kuro. Doesn’t know if they get along or not, doesn’t know anything about him. And, thinking back on it, it’s unsettling. Mahiru isn’t the type of person to keep secrets — at least, Sakuya had thought he wasn’t. But it seems that he can keep secrets, even from his friends, and that’s...that’s upsetting.

Hell, he doesn’t know how Misono and Mahiru met and that’s —

Sakuya groans, covering his face with his hands. He thought he had enough of the lies, of the false truths when Tsubaki found him on the ground and took him to the hospital. He thought he had enough of it when Tsubaki took custody of him while he was in a coma and sent his parents to jail. Tsubaki hasn’t lied to him, not once in the year and two months they’ve known each other. And...and Mahiru has. So has Misono.

He’d ignored it, hoped that they would tell him one day, but —

But it seems that he was wrong. And it’s going to take severe circumstances for them to let him in.

His breath catches. He’d hoped that they wouldn’t be like his parents. And — they aren’t. But they’re liars just like them and that, to Sakuya is possibly just as bad. Lies are what killed his sister. Lies are what let his parents get away with their schemes for as long as they did.

Lies are what destroyed his life before it even began. And truth is what saved it.

Sakuya hates lies. Hates liars even more. His friends are liars.

Tears sting his eyes. He can’t win, can he? Tsubaki is amazing, his savior. He rescued him, saved his life, but he’s also planning things that make Sakuya’s stomach turn. His friends are incredible. They’re kind and funny.

They’re liars.

Sakuya’s torn. He loves his friends but he hates liars. He doesn’t know what to do and it’s at this point he would turn to Tsubaki, but Tsubaki is part of the problem.

He sits up straight, wiping his eyes. The car hasn’t moved recently, and Dodo is suspiciously quiet. He needs to pull himself together to save the liars his friends have become. Fixing his clothes, schooling his face into a blank slate, Sakuya gets out of the car, hands in his pockets. His nails bite into his palms and his anger is a rising thing, a consuming thing, and Sakuya is seeing red. He grinds his teeth together, quickens his pace, and bursts into the manors, chest heaving with his rage.

Six people turn to look at him, surprise in their eyes. Sakuya’s gaze roams the group; he sees Misono, Lily, Mikuni, and Jeje. There are two people he doesn’t know, but he knows who they are.

Sleepy Ash. Old Child.

“Sakuya,” Misono starts, and Old Child snarls, his cape sharpening and growing longer as he stalks forward. Sakuya takes a step backward, heart thudding in his chest because Old Child looks ready to kill, looks ready to tear him apart, and Tsubaki isn’t here to protect him.

“What,” Old Child growls, his eyes glowing and nearly sparking in his fury. “Happened. To. Tetsu.”’

Sakuya swallows roughly. Shit, he thinks, and shrinks in on himself. His arms wrap around his stomach, almost shaking with the urge to run away, and Sleepy Ash makes his way towards them, slouching in front of Sakuya.

“Hugh,” he says, a warning in his tone. “What did I say about being calm?”

Old Child snaps his teeth at Sleepy Ash, and the spikes that his cape has become dig into the floor. Sakuya inches behind Sleepy Ash, eyes wide, and Sleepy Ash’s eyes narrow in response.

“My chosen is missing,” Old Child shouts, “and you want me to be calm when the person who knows where he is _is right in front of me?”_

Sakuya trembles. He knows where Tetsu is but he doesn’t know if he can get him. Doesn’t know if he can because Tsubaki hasn’t given him the okay. But Old Child might very well kill him if he doesn’t say anything.

“Hugh,” Lily snaps, and marches to Sakuya’s side, pulling him behind him. “You’re scaring him. He’s the same age as Misono. He may know something but you _will not_ harm him.” A pause. “Also, you’re destroying the floor.”

Old Child takes a breath, then another. He turns away, making his way to a chair and climbing into it. “Keep him away from me,” he says, and it’s dangerous. Dangerous and commanding and Sakuya studiously avoids looking at him as he walks over to Misono.

“What’s going on?” he asks quietly, and Misono meets his eyes, stare hard and freezing.

“I don’t know, Sakuya,” he says, and it’s frigid, hard as stone. “Why don’t you tell me?”

 

—

 

Tetsu wakes up abruptly. He rolls onto his stomach, nausea making bile rise in his throat, and he pushes himself to his hands and knees, arms shaking. He wants to go home. There’s a patch on his arm, his leg hurts, and he’s afraid to look at it. He just knows that it hurts, it hurts a lot, and it reminds him of the time he pulled a muscle but _worse._

He breathes in deeply through his nose like Hugh taught him, sits up slowly. He gasps in pain, nearly screams, but holds it in. He doesn’t glance at his leg. He scared to, scared to find out what happened to him. But he looks at his arms, surprised to see bruises. It looks like a hair tie was around his arm for too long and cut off some air. But it’s bigger, thicker.

Tetsu has a sneaking suspicion that whatever happened to him isn’t good.

Something moves, and his head jerks towards it, automatically curling in on himself to make himself as much of a smaller target as he can. It isn’t much considering how tall he is, but it’s the best he can do.

When his hand brushes his leg, he feels something. Something hard and all of a sudden Tetsu knows what happened. He doesn’t look but he probes around it, and he feels skin hanging in strands, tacky blood, and a sharp bone.

Tetsu shuts his eyes. He wants Hugh. Hugh would make it better. Tetsu is fourteen and doesn’t know what to do but Hugh is older and would. Tetsu is fourteen and being held captive and he’s _terrified._

The man hurt Mahiru and hurt him, and he’s after Hugh. He’s after Hugh and Hugh will come to get Tetsu, because he promised him, told him that wherever Tetsu goes he will follow. He will come and he will get hurt and -

Tetsu doesn’t realize he’s hyperventilating until his vision goes dark and he collapses on his side.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter FOUGHT ME UGH

Mikuni crosses his arms and leans against the wall, watching the drama unfold. Old Child —  Hugh — is sitting in the chair by the door, his eyes sparking dangerously and his teeth bared in a silent snarl. He's ready to fight, Mikuni thinks, and nods in satisfaction as Jeje shifts in place beside him. Good. They're going to need the fury of several immortals if they wish to destroy C3, if they wish to find the kiddies.

Kuro's staring at Sakuya, Misono too. The fifteen year old is fidgeting, silent despite all the pressure on him, and his green eyes are avoiding everyone's gaze. Lily's sipping tea at the table, fingertips white on the handle, and Mikuni scoffs, pushing himself off the wall. Sakuya's attention snaps over to him and Mikuni stalks closer, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him close. Sakuya's eyes widen as he shrinks in on himself, trying to pull away. Mikuni keeps his grip tight, eyes narrowing.

"If you have something you need to say," he says lowly, "then say it now."

Tears spring to life in Sakuya's eyes as he pushes against Mikuni's chest, desperation making him clumsy. Mikuni leans in, letting the teenager see just how dangerous he is, just how ready he is to fight, and repeats himself.

"Tell us if you have something to say. Now."

"I can't!" Sakuya finally shouts. "I can't, okay! Not unless I get Tsubaki-san's permission and he's out —  out getting my parents' request for visitation denied."

"Tsubaki," Lily says thoughtfully. "Isn't he the one that will attack us, Hugh?"

Hugh hums. "Yes, I believe so."

And Mikuni can see the moment his baby brother closes off. "So it's true, then. That you're with the enemy and got close to me to attack us."

Sakuya immediately shakes his head. "No, no! That's not it! I —  I became friends with Mahiru because he was kind to me and then became friends with you as a consequence of that. I didn't know you were the human for All of Love."

"But you knew after," Mikuni counters, and it's dark and hateful. "You knew after and you still came over."

"Tsubaki-san _saved_ me," Sakuya says, sad and grateful all at the same time. "My parents —  they pushed me out of a balcony. I was in a coma for months while Tsubaki-san fought with my parents in court. He's the one who found me, who saved me. I can't just turn my back on him. But you were my first friends and."

"And you were torn," Kuro drawls, taking a step forward. He puts a hand on Mikuni's shoulder, pushes him away. Mikuni lets it happen, if only because Sakuya will likely reveal things to people he actually knows and trusts. He has no attachment to Mikuni other than ‘he's Misono's weird older brother’ but Misono? Misono is one of Sakuya's best friends and with how obviously he's hurt at the fact that Sakuya is ‘with the enemy’ and Sakuya will do anything to make Misono not upset. Anything.

For example, lead them right to where they need to go.

Mikuni sits down, crosses his legs at the ankles as Sakuya stares into Misono's eyes, something like anger in his gaze. "Yes. I was torn. But, obviously, it was a good thing I was."

Mikuni raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Sakuya glances over at him. "Yes. You guys don't trust me enough to tell me things that I likely need to know since this world is full of danger —  if I didn't know about it before and had my own damn protectors, I could've gotten hurt. C3 knows things. And they know of me, not because of my connection to Tsubaki-san, but because of my connection to _you."_ He glares at Misono, who flinches back and clenches his fists, determined to not give an inch. Mikuni applauds him even as he puts his elbow on the table, blinking slow and easy at the teenager.

"And how do you know that?" he asks, and Sakuya huffs like a bull, too angered to really think clearly. The folly of teenagers.

"Because we snuck in there a few months ago. They took immediate notice of me with you." Then he stops. "And...Tsubaki-san almost destroyed the records because he doesn't want me caught up in it, but I convinced him not to. Because I wasn't ashamed of my friendship with you guys."

Kuro sighs, deep and weary. "And now Mahiru and Tetsu are taken. But not you or Misono. Why?"

Sakuya shrugs. "I'm not sure. You and Old Child — "

 _"Hugh,"_ Old Child snarls, and Sakuya pauses.

"...Hugh. You and Hugh are the oldest and the strongest. Maybe they wanted to get you two out of the way."

"For _what?"_ Mikuni presses, and Jeje shifts in the shadows, guns cocking. As much as he claims to hate Mikuni, he won't let anyone hurt him. It's a nice thought.

Sakuya shifts, eyes on the ground. "I —  there's this — project. You know how your humans are typically stronger and more resilient?" Lily inclines his head and Hugh nods sharply. "They're trying to figure out how that happens and if they can apply that to their employees. And since they're the humans of the two strongest siblings..." He trails off, unwilling to say more, but by the grim line of Kuro's lips, the way the shadows tremble as Hugh breathes out, he doesn't need to.

Mikuni is next, then. Jeje is the third oldest. The only problem is, Mikuni is never far from Jeje's side, and he knows how to fight so he isn't an easy target. Not to mention, he knows their weapons, knows how they fight because _he_ fought like that for a year or two.

"Which base?" Mikuni asks, brow furrowing as he buries the memories of his time with C3 into the back of his mind. If he's right then Touma will be involved in this, and Touma...

Memories of Tsurugi bleeding and broken at Touma's feet rise, and Mikuni delicately covers his mouth with the back of his hand. Tsurugi wouldn't leave Touma's side no matter how much Mikuni tried to convince him, and he doesn't want to know what his old partner has gone through at the hands of that man. Maybe, this time, he could steal him away.

Mikuni grins, wolflike. What he wouldn't give to have Touma's face underneath his boot. It looks like he'll have that image sooner than he thought.

"What?" Sakuya blinks at him, and Mikuni blinks back, drawn out of his thoughts.

"Which base?" he repeats. "We need to know where we're going."

"Oh. It's the one here in town — "

"Wait." Hugh's voice is like a sword cutting through flesh, and when Mikuni looks over at him, his head is lowered, top hat hiding his expression. "Our humans are more resilient only because they take in some of our magic that _only we have_ by proximity. That's the only way. Only we have magic. That's how it always has been and how it always will be. We are the representation of the sins to keep the world in balance. That is the only reason we exist." He raises his head, and Mikuni —  doesn't flinch, not exactly, but he cringes at the way the eternal child's eyes _burn._ "C3 is well aware of this. So why are they trying to replicate that? They don't have magic, only weapons."

Mikuni smiles. "See, they do have energy. And they likely think that if they figure out how to transfer that energy to magic, they can do it."

Hugh scoffs. "That's not how magic _works."_

"They don't know that. And Tetsu Sendagaya is likely going to pay the price for it."

Mikuni knows exactly what he's doing when he says those words. He knows how Hugh will react, and he's proven right when Hugh snarls, shoves himself to his feet as the world trembles beneath him. Kuro stiffens when Mikuni cuts a glance over at him.

"And Mahiru Shirota will pay it as well."

And just like that, the two most powerful creatures in the world are pissed off and ready to fight. Mikuni leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers together as he gazes at Sakuya calmly. "Mahiru is going to be hurt," he says calmly. "Will you keep quiet or no?"

Sakuya bites his lip, eyes darting between Misono and Mikuni and the two incensed immortals. He seems to come to a decision and he pulls out his phone, calling someone and putting them on speaker.

"Sakuya?" comes a voice, deep and frantic. "Sakuya, where are you? We came home and you weren't there!"

Sakuya pulls on that stray curl absently. "Tsubaki-san, you know how Tetsu Sendagaya was taken?"

"Yes. I told you we would get him back. Also, your parents won't get visitation rights. I fought tooth and nail and Higan might've had to go out for a cigarette, but —  they won't be able to see you any time soon."

Sakuya slumps, tension leaving his shoulder in an instant. "Thank you, Tsubaki-san."

"Kid," Tsubaki chuckles. "I told you it wouldn't happen. Have I ever lied to you?"

"No," Sakuya says, and it's choked. "Tsubaki-san, All Of Love knows I know. I went to Misono's and Doubt Doubt and Mikuni were here and Sleepy Ash and Old Child — "

"Stay there," Tsubaki orders, and his next words come out distant, as though he's farther away from the speaker than he likely should be. I'll come get you. Higan, go get Shamrock and Otogiri. I'll get Belkia."

Sakuya shakes his head frantically, as though he's forgotten that his caretaker can't see him. "Tsubaki-san, it's okay! We just —  can you meet us at the C3 base? They took Mahiru too."

Silence for a moment. Then —

"Are you sure about this, kiddo?" and Tsubaki's voice is suddenly very soft and very kind. "I mean, I'll do it, but everything we've done will be for nothing."

Sakuya breathes out shakily. "Yes. I'm sure about this. I'm sorry, Tsubaki-san."

A laugh. "It's fine, Sakuya. We'll meet you there. Just...be careful. I'll see you there. Love you."

Sakuya smiles. "Love you too. Stay safe."

"You too." Tsubaki hangs up, leaving them in silence. Sakuya rolls his shoulders, standing tall.

"You heard him," he says. "Let's go."

 

—

 

Mahiru has scoured over every inch of this damn cell. More than once. He did it when he first woke up, after Tetsu was taken, and he just did it again out of sheer anger and boredom.

Thing is, it's pitch black in here. He can't see a thing. He assumes it's because everyone has gone home and the lights went off outside of the room because of it, but that just means it makes his life that much harder.

Tetsu was taken. A fourteen year old boy who had no business being here. He was taken, and Mahiru's ribs throb angrily with the reminder of what happened to him when _he_ was taken. It's not pretty, not at all, and he hates that the two of them are in this situation because they decided to be nice people and take in others. God, the first time he saw Kuro...

Well. He couldn't be blamed for taking in the man collapses in the alleyway, cheeks red with fever. And he can't be blamed for having Kuro stay with him when he found out Kuro had no place to go. Mahiru was Kuro's _someone,_ someone who helped him and took him in when others walked by him and ignored him. He was Kuro's Uncle Tooru, and that makes him swell with something like pride but not. It's something softer, more humble, and it makes Mahiru warm from the inside out that Kuro trusts him so much.

The door opens and Touma steps in, his feet quiet against the stone. Mahiru tilts his head back against the wall, legs splayed out before him as he watches Touma approach. His captor crouches before him, tilting his head at the way Mahiru's face twists at the sight of him.

"What's with the expression?" he asks, lifting Mahiru's wrist. The wrist that has the black tattoo that came from being Kuro's 'human'; it's like a mark of ownership, of possession, and Touma examines it, twisting it this way and that, and Mahiru grits his teeth, jerking it out of his grasp.

"What did you do to Tetsu?" Mahiru manages past the white-hot anger in his chest.

Touma eyes him, shrugs, and pulls out his phone, showing him  some footage. Mahiru has to consider it live, and has to force down the bile that rises when Tetsu wakes up.

Tetsu's leg is _shredded,_ clearly broken, and there's blood on his shirt, on his legs, in his hair. His eyes are unfocused, his breathing unsteady, and Mahiru forces the phone away, glaring something fierce.

"You know he's fourteen, right?" he forces out, and Touma shrugs, unconcerned with both the moral and legal repercussions that will befall him once Mahiru escapes. Not to mention how _Kuro_ will react when he sees Mahiru like this.

"He's the one who houses the embodiment of pride. He brought this upon himself. Speaking of which..." His hand is a blur of color until it lands on Mahiru's chest, and Mahiru gasps out a small scream of pain. "As did you." He grabs Mahiru by the hair and forces him to look him in the eyes.

Touma smiles, small and disgusting. Mahiru has never wanted to punch someone in the face more. "I think I'll see how much pain you can take before passing out this time. You proved very good in our experiments on how fast the immortal's humans heal. Sendagaya was good with how resilient your kind are. I suppose you'll have to do as he heals for the next few hours."

Mahiru bares his teeth, wishes he had his staff. Kuro had made him start to learn how to use one, citing dangers when Mahiru asked why. If he had his staff, he has no doubt he would be able to fight back, but as it is, even if he did fight back, he would only get hurt more. And he has to be in optimal condition if he wants to escape.

"I would hope that your superiors know what you're doing," he says, smiling nastily, and Touma's doesn't even falter.

"Of course they do," he says steadily, and Mahiru scoffs.

"We're children," Mahiru says. "And humans are biologically motivated to protect the kids. They don't know about this, do they?" He leans in close, blood on his teeth and something like hate, something like fury burning bright and hot in his belly, and spits in Touma's face. "I'd like to see you explain this to them!"

Touma's grip is cold on his arm is cold and harsh, unforgiving, and Mahiru's quiet, bitter laughter transforms into a scream when his arm is suddenly snapped.

"I would think," Touma says softly as he stands, dragging Mahiru with him, "that you would have better self-preservation instinct than that, Mr. Simple Two."

"Fuck...you...."

"We'll have a lot of fun," Touma decides, and the door clangs shut behind them. Mahiru doesn't know what will happen next; he just knows he'll be in a lot of pain.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *crawls out from the depths of hell, aka new fandoms, school, and lack of motivation*
> 
> IM ALIVE

Tsubaki hates C3. He absolutely despises it, not only for what they did to him while he was in their custody, but also for the fact that they ordered the murder of Sensei. Sensei, who was the closest thing Tsubaki had to a father, Sensei, who was the most intelligent man to ever walk the earth, because he managed to get enough magic from each of the seven sins to create a whole new being, who would be the combination of each of the sins and just as powerful as the eldest.

He named the being Tsubaki.

Tsubaki shakes his head, glancing at Higan out of the corner of his eye. The man is gripping the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white and crimson eyes burning. A cigarette is held between his lips, glowing orange at the end. Higan huffs out a breath of smoke, cursing under his breath. Higan is close to Sakuya; he was the one who suggested taking Sakuya in, after all, even if they were all were thinking it. And in the last year, Higan has proven to be a pillar of strength for Sakuya, staying calm when he was panicked.

Tsubaki looks into the mirror and watches the three others. Otogiri is reading a book, face blank as usual, but Tsubaki knows her, knows the way she curls her toes when she’s agitated, the way her shoulders tense. Belkia is glaring out the window, long hair held in a braid that loops around his head like a crown and then continues down his back. Sakuya had dyed his hair pink a month ago with some spray on hair dye when he was passed out on the couch, laughing himself sick when Belkia actually went and got it professionally done; Tsubaki had laughed, too, and Belkia had waved one of his swords at them, swearing at them as they ran.

Shamrock is sitting unnaturally still, back straight and eyes straight ahead. He doesn’t move at all, hands in his lap and suit impeccable. Tsubaki knows him, though. He knows that Shamrock, though he may not show it, is worried. He’s so worried about the boy they took under their wing that it’s making him default to the manners he instilled it’s himself. It’s really rather adorable, if that is a word that could be used for it, and Tsubaki sympathizes. Truly, he does.

Fortunately, he knows that his family not very mentally sound and thus he knows exactly what they’re all going to do when they arrive at C3.

Higan had the right idea, those two decades ago in Italy. Tsubaki smiles darkly, thinking of the gasoline in the trunk and the lighter in Higan’s pocket.

C3 will be blown to bits with everyone but Tsubaki’s own in it, and it  _ delights _ the corner of Tsubaki’s mind that is bloodthirsty and tearing at his thoughts, demanding revenge.

They pull to a stop on a street, civilians milling around them. It’s two in the afternoon and it’s time to eat for some people; Tsubaki gently sneers at them from inside the car, his figures hidden by the tinted windows. So oblivious. So fragile.

So  _ useless. _

Any human that is not part of Tsubaki’s family doesn’t need to live. Tsubaki learned that the hard way.

“Are we here?” Otogiri asks softly, setting her book down. She shifts in her seat, fingers brushing against the seatbelt she insists upon wearing. Belkia growls out an affirmative as Shamrock replies with—

“Yes.”

Tsubaki adjusts his yukata, makes sure his sword is in place, and steps out of the car. Higan follows, the car shuddering as they all get out to stand at Tsubaki’s side. Higan didn’t turn off the car.

Tsubaki gives him an amused look. “Planning something?”

Higan simply lights a cigarette, the flare of fire making the bloodthirsty look in his eyes  _ incredibly _ noticeable. “Perhaps,” he says ambiguously, indecisively. “If we need it.”

Belkia laughs, expression wild as he spins on his heel, eyes roaming to look in the crowds. Tsubaki merely hums and shifts in place, sword held tight against his arm. Otogiri is pretending to examine her cuticles, but the catch of light exposes the game; strings glint from around her fingers, nearly invisible unless an observer knows what they’re looking for. Tsubaki does. He’s the one who gave her the string, after all, when she looked him in the eyes and said, “Weapon.”

Shamrock isn’t doing anything, stiff as a corpse still, but his feet are positioned in a way that means he’s ready to jump into battle without any regard for his health. Tsubaki feels invincible with them here, like C3 can’t do anything to him, to people he finds precious.

Belkia’s breath catches. In unison, the four of them twist to look at him, and before their eyes a wild curl of green hair moves in the crowd. He’s in a light gray hoodie, shoulders hunched, but the shock of color is unmistakable and the way of moving recognizable, and Belkia’s moving before any of them realize.

“Sakuya!” he shouts, rushing forward, and Otogiri follows, bare feet slapping against the sidewalk. Higan doesn’t move and neither does Tsubaki, but Shamrock is following, tension in his every step.

Belkia almost reaches Sakuya, almost folds him into an embrace and  _ safe _ in a way that means no one could ever hurt him again, no one could ever make him scared, when suddenly a tall man is in front of them, three bags on his head and a cross thumping against his chest. A single red eye glows out from the small tear in the paper, and Sakuya shrinks in on himself further.

Rage curls in Tsubaki’s chest, making his fingers curl in towards his palm until his nails pierce his skin. How dare they. How  _ dare _ they try to keep Sakuya from them.

Belkia snarls, fingers twitching as he prepares to summon a sword. Shamrock’s reaching into his suit jacket for the gun he always has hidden, Otogiri’s staying behind, always a distance fighter, but with a single twitch of her hands there’s strings entangled in the bullets hanging from Envy’s hips. The smallest movement from her and they will fall.

Higan’s deadly still beside him. Tsubaki doesn’t need to look at him to see the murderous expression he’s wearing.

A man walks out from behind Envy, golden hair partially hidden under a hat. His smile is sharp, his eyes glint, and he says lightly, “Tsubaki, was it?”

Tsubaki narrows his own eyes in return. “Mikuni,” he replies, and the Eve of Envy laughs.

“I’m so flattered you know my name,” he says, “considering you were going to kill my Sin.”

Tsubaki sneers. “As if I would do it myself.” Sakuya peeks out from behind Envy, eyes wide in a way Tsubaki hasn’t seen since the kid finally accepted he has safe, and his lips lift up in a reassuring smile even as a growl rumbles from his chest.

Mikuni doesn’t look impressed. “We have you surrounded and Sakuya at our mercy. I would advise you not to do anything foolish.”

Tsubaki takes a deep breath that he doesn’t need, casting his senses out. Sins have a way of knowing when another is near; it’s like a homing beacon. And there’s three other Sins surrounding them, not including Envy. Pride, Lust, and— _ Sloth. _

Higan could take one of them. Otogiri works more as an undercover agent and wouldn’t be very useful except for a way to trip up their opponents. Shamrock could take on Lust and Envy, but not without significant injuries. Tsubaki could try to destroy Sloth, but if they did any of that Sakuya’s brain would be blown out.

There’s no possible way out of this without Sakuya being hurt. And that is unacceptable.

He relaxes, closing his eyes as he waves the others back. Belkia doesn’t go quietly, shouting threats at Mikuni the whole time, but Otogiri does. Shamrock doesn’t say a word as he drags Belkia with him, but Tsubaki knows he’s furious.

“We’re here,” Tsubaki says, opening his eyes. Mikuni smiles, sharp as a knife. “What will you have us do?”

“Tsubaki-san,” Sakuya murmurs, and, oh, how Tsubaki aches to tuck him into bed, aches to wrap him up with a blanket and put on terrible movies that makes him groan and threaten to dump the popcorn on his head.

“Mikuni,” Sloth says, melting out of the shadows, Pride and Lust at his side. “This is cruel. Just let Sakuya go over there. He’s scared to death.”

Mikuni chuckles, the sound of it like nails on a chalkboard to Tsubaki’s ears. “You’ve clearly never had to plan a siege.”

“No,” Sloth agrees. “But I know that it would be the human thing to do to let a kid go over to place he feels safe.”

“You’re not human,” Mikuni counters, and Sloth doesn’t even flinch.

“But you are. Are you going to be like your mom?”

Mikuni pulls back slightly, but it’s enough give for Sloth to turn to Sakuya and jerk his head towards them. Sakuya hurries around Envy and towards them, face set. Higan drops the cigarette on the ground and looks over the kid with a concerned gaze, and Sakuya practically blooms under the attention they shower on him. Otogiri stays close to him, Belkia clings to his arm and wails about something or another, and Shamrock starts going on about propriety that no one cares about anymore, but he lays a warm hand on Sakuya’s head anyway. Tsubaki finds he can breathe easier with Sakuya in front of him, and he turns his attention to his siblings.

“So?” He raises an eyebrow as his family crowds around Sakuya, keeping him in the middle for best protection. “What is the plan?”

Pride bares his teeth at him, but he looks about as intimidating as a wet kitten. Tsubaki rolls his eyes. “If you don’t have a plan I’m not going to stay here.”

Lust steps forward, his Eve staying behind with Sloth. “The plan,” he says, voice soft, “is for one of you to make a distraction. Then we will go down and get them.”

Tsubaki snorts. “Obviously. But what if something goes wrong?”

“We’ll deal with it when we get to it,” Lust’s boy snaps, and Sakuya hisses out a  _ Misono. _

Tsubaki sighs, snapping his wrist. His sword slides into his palm, red swirling on the blade. People suddenly take notice and start to scream, rushing away. Tsubaki smiles even as his family leaps into action. Higan lights another cigarette and the flickering flame stretches to the sky then arches towards the car. Shamrock fires rounds into the air then into the crowd, being careful not to hit anyone. Belkia is darting around the street, swords a flash of light, and Otogiri is on the streetlights, manipulating the fleeing humans into crashing into each other.

The fire reaches the gas and it ignites. But since it’s  _ Higan’s _ fire, the explosion keeps to the ground, making a hole in the street and in the ceiling of C3. Tsubaki waves his hand to his siblings, lips curling in disgust at their faces. Higan jumps into the opening, Belkia following not a second later. Otogiri shares a look with him, and then slips down and makes her way to Sakuya, gently taking his arm in hand and tugging him away.

Below, Belkia is laughing, loud and hysterical and slightly insane in the way he never denies, and Tsubaki laughs as he follows.

“Coming?” he shouts, and the ground rumbles under the force of Pride’s rage. The ceiling caves even more as Sloth and Pride rush into C3 then past them, chasing the scent of tainted-human. Tsubaki just laughs again, and joins in on the chaos.

This will be fun, he thinks, and slices the head off an employee.

 

— 

 

Hugh can barely focus on his surroundings, nose filled with the smell of  _ water-ink-home. _ And mixed with it, is the undeniable scent of blood.

The rage that has been ever-present since Tetsu disappeared roars to life, so hot it feels like he’s going to be cooked from the inside out. Kuro is keeping pace—an impressive feat considering Hugh is going as fast as he can and Kuro was created to be a heavy-hitter, not a being meant for speed.

“You can smell it?” Hugh asks. “The fear? The pain?”

Kuro nods. “I can. It’s on both of them.”

Hugh gnashes his teeth together, the shadows sticking to him as he rushes past. He doesn’t have  _ time _ for this wild goose chase. Tetsu is hurting and scared and he  _ needs him. _

A scream makes them both stop dead in their tracks. Mahiru. That was  _ Mahiru. _

Kuro’s rage is so great that Hugh can practically taste it, can almost feel it weighing down the air. His teeth grow into fangs, his body nearly turns into shadow. Hugh grabs his leg and holds on until he turns back into a mostly solid shape.

“You don’t want to scare him,” Hugh says in response to Kuro’s venomous glare. Humans can’t bear their true forms; it makes them traumatized at worse and comatose at best. And Mahiru is the only human Kuro likes. It would kill him to lose the boy.

“Right,” Kuro says slowly, like he had to pull the words out of a bog. Hugh smiles tightly.

Another scream. Kuro stiffens then moves down the hallway so fast a human couldn’t see him. Hugh huffs and runs after him; he gets it, he does, but also  _ Tetsu. _

They reach the door Mahiru’s scent is strongest, and Kuro blasts it off its hinges. A man stands with his back to them, and Mahiru is curled into a ball in front of him, eyes squeezed shut and breathing heavy. Blood spreads out from under him and he smells of sick.

Kuro  _ roars, _ launching himself forward mid-transformation and his claws tear into the man’s back. Blood sprays the walls, and the man screeches in pain; Hugh’s viciously satisfied as he heads over to Mahiru, turning him onto his back. Mahiru moans in pain, eyes fluttering open, and the sound draws Kuro to him, sniffing at him and whining in his throat. Hugh sympathizes, really, but—

“Mahiru,” he says, and gently hits the boy’s face to get his attention. “Where is Tetsu.”

Mahiru doesn’t say anything, gaze unfocused due to pain, and Hugh narrows his eyes before hitting him again. Kuro growls at him, but Hugh ignores him.

“Tetsu,” he says flatly. “Where is he.”

Mahiru flaps a hand over at the man Kuro tried to kill for half a minute. Hugh sighs and rises to his feet, leaving Mahiru to Kuro’s worried, loving care. He grabs the man by the hair, disregarding the way the man coughs up blood, and drags him out the door. They leave a trail of blood behind them.

Occasionally, the man tries to escape, but Hugh growls at him lowly, claws digging into his scalp, and he goes quiet.

They stop at an intersection, and Hugh looks down at him. “Where is Tetsu,” he demands, eyes burning, and the man doesn’t answer. Hugh shakes him roughly, saying, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

The man stays silent. Hugh throws him into a wall and debates killing him. From the fact that he was the one hurting Mahiru, he likely hurt Tetsu as well. Unacceptable.

But Tetsu took precedence. Tetsu is fourteen and scared and he needs him to be there right now instead of staying here, with this ant of a man who can’t even  _ compare _ to Tetsu.

The building shakes. Tsubaki’s wild, unrestrained laughter echoes down the hallways, and Hugh struggles to let the man go. His very nature is demanding that he kill him, demanding that he spend hours taking him apart, that he makes the man regret ever being born.

But— _ Tetsu—  _

Footsteps. Boots hitting the floor and soft breathing. Hugh looks up to see Mikuni and his brother, both standing in front of him. Mikuni doesn’t pay him any attention, aiming a cold look down at the man.

“Touma,” Mikuni says, voice deadly calm, and Hugh raises an eyebrow.

“You know him?”

“Extensively,” Mikuni says flatly, Jeje nodding beside him. “Go to Tetsu. I’ll take care of him.”

Hugh hesitates. This is the man who hurt Tetsu, who makes him smell like fear and anger and blood. But judging by the way Mikuni lays his heel on the man’s throat and  _ presses down, _ there is no love between them. And Mikuni—Mikuni wouldn’t give him the mercy he would beg for.

Hugh lets go, then turns around. “I’ll leave him to your capable hands,” he calls, and Jeje makes a quiet noise of acknowledgement.

Tetsu is waiting for him. There’s no time for revenge.

  
  


— 

 

Mikuni looks down at Touma, who glares back, his lips set in a stubborn line. Tsurugi is asleep in his room, sedated into unconsciousness by Mikuni. There’s no way Tsurugi can come and save Touma.

The other employees are preoccupied by Tsubaki and his...friends. Lily and Misono are getting medical supplies ready, because neither of them are really made for combat.

“So,” Mikuni says. Jeje cocks his guns. “Do you remember me?”

Touma’s lips open, barely a breath of a word. “Mikuni.”

Mikuni grins, more of a baring of teeth, and says, “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun.”

 

—

 

Tetsu leans against the wall he dragged himself to, resting his head against the tile. His leg hurts. It really hurts. Yellow stuff is starting to come out of it, and it’s more of an undercurrent of pain that flares up at times, that makes him arch his back and grit his teeth to keep the scream in. His leg hurts. His ribs hurt. He wants to be at home, in the hot springs, with Hugh splashing beside him and saying something with the weight of knowledge and age that he doesn’t appear to have.

He wants to go  _ home. _

He grips his stomach, closing his eyes in pain, and tries to breathe. Hugh told him—told him that if he was ever hurt seriously, he needed to breathe.

He whines, the sound high-pitched and childish, but he  _ is _ a child and he hurts.

He wants his mom. He wants his dad. He wants  _ Hugh. _

A presence outside the room flares, familiar and comforting and warm, and the air in Tetsu’s lungs leave in a rush.

“Hugh,” he whispers, and the door blasts itself off the hinges, flying across the room to crash into the wall. Tetsu blinks heavy eyes at the small figure looming in the doorway, and falls forward, too tired to stay awake. Hugh catches him with too-strong little arms and murmurs a soft, “You’re safe. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

And Tetsu believes it.

 

—

 

Mahiru wakes up to a white ceiling, scratchy blankets, and a heart monitor. A weight lays on his legs, breathing in time with his heartbeat, and Mahiru looks down. Kuro’s asleep across his legs, face peaceful, and Mahiru smiles, lifting a weak arm to gently pat Kuro’s hair.

Kuro doesn’t stir, only buries his face in his arms more, and sleeps. Mahiru laughs softly, looking around the room. Tetsu is asleep on the bed beside him, a boy sitting at his feet. Blood red eyes flick over at him before settling back on Tetsu.

“Pride?” Mahiru says softly. The boy nods stiffly.

“Hugh,” he corrects, and Mahiru inclines his head before looking the other way. Sakuya is asleep in a chair beside him, three adults clustered on the floor around him, all asleep. A man in a yukata is sitting on the windowsill, looking out the window. When he catches Mahiru staring, he places a finger on his lips. Mahiru smiles and turns his gaze to the people in front of him.

Mikuni is leaning against the wall, a man in the bed beside him. Jeje is in snake form, curled around Mikuni’s neck. Mikuni doesn’t open his eyes or even make any motion to indicate he knows Mahiru is watching, but Mahiru gets the feeling he knows anyway.

He puts his head back on the pillow, still petting Kuro’s hair, and slips back into sleep.

Safe. He’s safe.

It’s time to sleep. And so he does.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always loved and brighten up my day and are saved in my Gmail.


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